Brisbane Airport flight cap, curfew said to hurt regional travellers most

Introducing the Brisbane Airport Curfew and Demand Management Bill 2022 in federal parliament, Greens leader Adam Bandt said lives were being disrupted because of unfair and unsustainable aircraft noise.

"This bill is the product of years of community campaigning by thousands of Brisbane residents, standing up to the Brisbane Airport Corporation," he said.

A survey of 2000 Brisbane residents last year found that 81 per cent of respondents had their sleep disrupted as a result of flight noise, 68 per cent of respondents suffered from mental distress, and 11 per cent of respondents had been forced to seek medical help.

"Studies around the world have shown the terrible health impacts that come with prolonged exposure to high levels of noise and sleep disruption," Mr Bandt said. "With international and domestic flight traffic beginning to return, this situation is only going to get worse."

The Brisbane Airports Corporation says that according to modelling undertaken by Queensland Economic Advocacy Solutions, the impact of flight caps would be felt most by Queensland's regional, rural, and remote communities.

"What the Greens MPs don't appreciate is that aviation services are critical for regional, rural and remote communities," a spokesperson said.

"A restriction on arrivals and departures at Brisbane Airport to 45 per hour more than halves the capacity of Brisbane's dual runway system and would cap movements below the current numbers.

"By 2026, the Greens caps and curfew at BNE would result in 3100 fewer flights annually, and a reduction of 239,000 seats for passengers per year.

"This as our population is predicted to soar 16 per cent by the Olympics, to just north of 6 million people."

They said 40pc of Brisbane Airport's current domestic flight numbers were to 30 destinations within Queensland, and so it would become more difficult for Queenslanders living in the regions to visit family and friends, travel for holidays, business, or for services such as specialist medical care.

"Recently, airlines have said the introduction of these types of restrictions on aircraft movements at BNE would push ticket prices out of reach financially for many Queenslanders," the spokesperson said.

"It would also push up the cost of living for those outside of urban areas, as cargo and freight prices rise, impacting everything from perishable produce, time sensitive medicines and pharmaceuticals.

"Queensland would be the only state where next day delivery of time sensitive items could not be guaranteed."

They added that while comparisons with Sydney were often made, it was important to note that Brisbane Airport has the largest noise buffer zone of any capital city airport.

"Drawing a straight line from the end of the runway, the nearest homes in Brisbane are more than 6km from the end of the runway. In Sydney, Gold Coast, Adelaide and Cairns they are as close as 600 metres," they said.

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Mr Bandt said measures the Greens wanted to see in legislation for a long-term operating plant that would see more flights take off and arrive over Moreton Bay, a distribution of flight traffic that meant no one group of residents was exposed to the majority of flights, and prioritising flight routes that don't pass over residential areas, were reasonable measures that airports around the world had already adopted.

"Sydney Airport already has a long-term operating plan, a curfew and a cap on flights," he said. "The question that both the Liberals and Labor must answer is: if it's good enough for Sydney Airport, why isn't it good enough for Brisbane."

He said a 10 pm to 6 am curfew would ensure every Brisbane resident was able to get a good night's sleep.

"Meanwhile, a flight cap of 45 flights per hour would allow Brisbane Airport to return to pre-pandemic flight traffic, while ensuring they don't grow unsustainably beyond that level," he said.